Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Ferme de Gicon White 2009... Cote du rhone white .. typical of the viscosity and mineral of a cdr white.. round and enough acidity to salivate.

Passion Blanche Cote de Catalones 2009 what an interesting wine and for the money very good.. but cost for a grenache blanc, muscat petite grain..hard to sell.. all the good things of muscat in the nose, and grenache blanc in the mouth.. think of torrontes without the grapefruit.. you can see how torrontes is born from muscat.

Le Petite Murialle.. nv a blend of grapes I like but a little too simple especially given the great wine like Garnacha de Fuego that is the same price and delivers a lot more..

Chaulans Vacqueray 2009... light purple in the glass.. tea and mushroom in the nose, a little uninteresting right now... for such a good vintage I hope its just in a resting phase.

Chiarle Moscato 2010.. soft, fizzy, good italian moscato... stone fruits and good acidity... and good price.

known for making a great chardonnay...
Chardonnay 2009 Carneros.. the california chard lovers wine that would not offend the french...so much.. still lots of ml and oak and toasty caramel but good acidity to carry it off... with others this might have been a oak bomb but here its just pleasat

Rombauer Merlot Carneros 2007... I love a good cool climate merlot like Truchard but this one had more herbacious notes to it.. stinky feet up front .. vegetal finish... a little cloudy in the glass.maybe the bottle wasnt well representing the product

Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 cassis and light some cedar... not one to right home about but better than the merlot

Cabernet reserve 2006... a hearty nose that didnt come through on the finish.. oaky.. almost too much cedar... and light bodied

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

There are some times when I think I miss the point.. or maybe I am more midwestern than I like to admit. Here is a well established winery that is trying to liven up things a bit.. maybe have some fun with labels..but they go full tilt the other way..

Bright Light California White Blend 2009.. the label glows in the dark... and the wine wants to be interesting.. a blend of chardonnay, gewurztraminer and albarino... and a little bit boring for the types of wine they are... you can tell the gewurz by the nose.. albarino is to me a little lighter in body than chard but in spain it comes off a little nutty and quirky..totally dry finish... and boring
2009 Swami Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast.. with a label that is a little Indian meets Ed Hardy... this is the best of the bunch.. fruit forward with a longish finish.. some nice spice and cocoa...

2007 Rockus Bockus blend of 6 grapes... soft on the palate with the green character of the vines coming through.. green equates to young.to me it was much more subtle than anything I was expecting with a name like Rockus...the label is a little 70's poster art with a lot of wine references.. was surprised at how tame it was

Saturday, June 18, 2011

One of the best wines I have ever had in my wine existence was ZD Abicus. A blended wine of years not regions. Lush and silky and soft fruit.

that being said

ZD Chardonnay California 2009. old school chardonnay I am told no ML goes into it.. and as creamy and fruity as this wine is I would only have to wonder what more the ML would do for it. still a little flabby could use a little more acidity or zip

ZD Pinot Noir Carneros 2009 rhubarb and green pepper on the nose... lush fruit but not that complex... hard to get past the nose.

Last thursday night, the 16h, we had our annual summerfest wine tasting. This years theme was the wonderful world of rose. We had a great attendance by both tasters and wine distributors. One of the best things was there were no broken glasses. That is unusual and shows I think, a little more restraint and attention by the customers. So I want to thank them for that. Lots of good rose tried and bought.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Audelssa Cabernet Sonoma 2007.. a dell say.... new to the market. very fleshy with lush fruit but not a lot of acidity... may be just a little hot in temperature but this time of year it is very hard to get them the cooler.. juicy..

Dante Reserve Chardonnay California 2009 what I would call the napolean of wine... it attacks then falls back quickly... not a lot of fruit..

Annabella Chardonnay Napa 2009 good acidity but the fruit just never shows up

Arderius Tinto Rioja 2009 spanish.. tempranillo... with nose of young vines, a little tinny... and the fruit has a hollow finish... lots of really good wine at this price point that will surprise.. their white is really good though

Annabella Napa Valley Merlot 2007 oak and fruit up front ... a rough finish though... not very well integrated.. maybe time will help

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Waterbrook Chardonnay Columbia Valley 2007... a little long in the tooth although the nose was sweet and ripe.. a little flabby losing some acidity.

Sagelands Riesling 2008 Washington.. diesely petrol on thenose... not my favorite.. and it follows through on the dull finish... some sweetness but not exciting.

Primarius Oregon 2009 light color.. earthy nose but not a lof of flavors.. not a lot of there there...

Waterbrook Melange 2008... blended wine of cab merlot and others.. the best of the bunch... cedary nose, needing some more acidity but it was a warm day and the wines were not showing as well as they could..

The Waterbrook winery is investing a lot in the sweet tooth of the american wine consumer... much as White Zinfandel was the gateway wine for many in the last century... they are pushing a different envelope with chocolate added wines... my problem with them seems to be they do not satisfy the wine or the chocolate lover in me.. trying to please both they dont please either.. for me.. others may find that different. and I would never leave things out of the store because I do not like them.